Latest / The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History / The Black Pioneers of the American Revolution
Transcript
- Lucas: For anyone coming with us through these conversations about the Atlantic world’s violent transformations, we’ve spent weeks looking at the systems that built empires on human suffering, but there’s another side to that story that often gets lost in the footnotes. Lucas: It’s the story of Black soldiers fighting in the American Revolutionary War, not as passive victims of the slave trade, but as active participants in a struggle for their own liberation, even when the nation they helped win remained committed to their enslavement. Luna: That sounds like a massive contradiction. Lucas: It was, and it started with a simple exclusion. When the war began in 1775, George Washington and the Continental Congress explicitly banned African Americans from enlisting in the Continental Army, citing fears that arming them would provoke slave uprisings and drive Southern colonies into the arms of the British. Lucas: But then came Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, who issued his famous proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to any enslaved person owned by a rebel who could bear arms for the Crown, which immediately forced Washington’s hand. Luna: So he had to change his policy because he was losing men. Lucas: Exactly, and by early 1776, the Continental Army reversed its ban, allowing free Black men to enlist, though enslaved men were still generally excluded unless their owners agreed to let them serve in exchange for manumission promises. Lucas: One of the earliest and most famous examples is Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native American descent, who became the first casualty of the Boston Massacre in 1770, symbolizing the deep connection between Black bodies and the fight for colonial rights long before the shooting started. Luna: I remember reading that he wasn't just a soldier, but a sailor. Lucas: He was, and that maritime background gave him a sense of mobility and independence that was rare for enslaved people, but his legacy really cemented itself in the minds of revolutionaries as a martyr for liberty. Lucas: Fast forward to June 1775, and you have the Battle of Bunker Hill, where a Black minuteman named Peter Salem played a pivotal role in repelling the British assault, famously shooting Major John Pitcairn, which shocked the British command structure. Luna: Shooting an officer right there? Lucas: Yes, and Salem later served in the Continental Army, proving that Black soldiers could be disciplined, effective, and brave under fire, challenging the racist narratives that justified slavery in the first place. Lucas: But the most significant unit was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, formed in 1778, which was one of the few integrated units in the entire war, comprising nearly half Black soldiers, many of whom were enslaved men freed specifically for their service. Luna: That must have been a very unique dynamic in camp. Lucas: It was complicated, because while they fought alongside white comrades, they still faced discrimination, lower pay, and the constant threat of being sold back into slavery if their owners reneged on their promises. Lucas: There’s a poignant letter from a Black soldier named Prince Hall, who petitioned the Massachusetts legislature in 1777, arguing that since they were willing to die for the country, they deserved full citizenship rights, a plea that went largely unanswered for decades. Luna: Did anyone actually listen to Prince Hall? Lucas: Not immediately, but his activism laid the groundwork for the abolitionist movement, and his name remains synonymous with early Black political organizing in America. Lucas: On the British side, Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment attracted thousands of enslaved people, creating a floating city of refugees around the British fleet, which terrified Southern plantation owners and made the war deeply personal for them. Luna: So it wasn't just a military issue, it was an economic one too. Lucas: Precisely, because every enslaved person who escaped to the British lines was a direct financial blow to the Patriot cause, making the promise of freedom a powerful weapon of war. Lucas: After the war, many of these veterans found themselves in limbo, with some northern states passing gradual emancipation laws, but others refusing to honor the contracts made to enslaved soldiers who had fought for their freedom. Luna: That feels like a betrayal on such a large scale. Lucas: It was, and it highlights the central hypocrisy of the Revolution: the declaration that all men are created equal rang hollow for those who had just bled for the nation but remained property. Lucas: We also see this tension in the actions of Benedict Arnold, who defected to the British side partly because he felt marginalized and perhaps saw the British offer of freedom as more viable than the Patriots' exclusion. Luna: Arnold's defection was pretty shocking. Lucas: It was, and it underscores how the war fractured loyalties along racial and class lines, with many enslaved people seeing the British as the lesser evil compared to the entrenched slavery of the new republic. Lucas: The French envoy Crépion de la Luzerne even noted the presence of Black officers in the Continental Army, acknowledging their competence despite the racial prejudices of the time. Luna: Did the French take note of that? Lucas: They did, and it influenced their own internal debates about slavery, especially since Haiti was next door and the example of Black resistance was becoming impossible to ignore. Lucas: Ultimately, the legacy of these Black patriots is one of profound courage and tragic irony, as they secured independence for a nation that would continue to deny them their humanity for another century. Luna: Their sacrifice really reshaped the meaning of freedom. Lucas: It did, and while their stories were often erased from official histories, modern scholarship is working hard to recover their voices and recognize their essential role in building the United States. Lucas: Quick honest thing — a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making this many of these. Luna: Yeah, it keeps the research going without ads. Lucas: That's F. E. X. I. N. G. O., spelled out so you can find the page easily when you're driving. Luna: Supporting the show directly is always an option. Lucas: Returning to our subject, the memory of these soldiers serves as a reminder that the fight for civil rights didn't start with the twentieth century, but was embedded in the very foundation of the nation. Luna: So the roots go much deeper than we usually think. Lucas: Much deeper, and it makes you wonder how different the post-war landscape might have been if those promises of freedom had been fully honored by the new government. Lucas: Perhaps the true revolution wasn't just independence, but the long, slow struggle to align the nation's practices with its professed ideals.